The National Day of Prayer (NDP)

Some inclusive celebrations of the NDP

Muncie, IN, in 2003Oklahoma City, OK, in 2005
Troy, MI in 2005

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Overview:

The National Day of Prayer (NDP) was created by Congress so that Americans of
all religions who believe in one or more deities can pray
together in fellowship. However, most observances of the NDP are currently
exclusively Evangelical Christian events coordinated
by the National Day of Prayer Task Force. There are some indications that a
reversal in this trend has started. There are increasing numbers of Inclusive
NDP celebrations where
people who are affiliated with any organized religion -- or none -- will be comfortable.
The NDP may eventually evolve into a celebration of
religious diversity rather than religious exclusivity.

The United States is generally recognized as being the most religiously
diverse nation in the world. It religious diversity is increasing as public
identification with the predominant religion, Christianity,
continues to decline, and as religions ranging from
Buddhism to Hinduism,
Islam, Wicca. and NOTA (None
Of The Above) continue their rapid growth. Holding NDP events which are
inclusive of all religions may go a long way towards promoting interfaith
understanding, and thus help the U.S. continue to avoid the type of
inter-religious violence seen in so may places worldwide.

Organizing an inclusive NDP event:

There is almost complete freedom of speech and assembly in the U.S. If any
group wants to celebrate the NDP from an non-Evangelical perspective, they are
entirely free to organize their own group separate from the
National Day of Prayer Task Force. This has been done in
a number of cities. For example, the Oklahoma Chapter of Americans
United for the Separation of Church and State (AUSCS) organized an inclusive
NDP event on 2005-MAY-05 at the State Capitol in Oklahoma City. It involved
representatives and attendees from a variety of religious groups -- Christian,
Muslim, Jewish, and Neopagan -- as well as from non-theistic communities. Rev. Barry W.
Lynn, executive director of AUSCS and a United Church of Christ minister,
spoke at the event. In a press release the day before, he said: "The National
Day of Prayer has become an excuse for the Religious Right to practice exclusion
and peddle bad history. We want to offer an alternative....The Dobsons
are essentially telling people of other faith traditions that they are not
welcome and to take a hike. I want all of them to know they should hike on over
to our event, where they will be welcomed and encouraged to take
part....Americans United's event is about inclusion, not exclusion. It's a
different celebration that honors the Constitution and celebrates our diversity."
4

Lynn's reference to "The Dobsons" apparently refers to:

James Dobson, founder and head of Focus on the Family. This is regarded
by some as the most influential Fundamentalist Christian para-church
organization in the U.S., and

His wife, Shirley Dobson, president of the National Day of Prayer Task Force. 5

Potential for conflict:

Organizing a NDP event is greatly simplified if everyone in town agrees
that the NDP event will be either:

Some other exclusive event for followers of only one wing of a
specific religion, like the Gardnerian tradition of Wicca.

However, if different groups have competing concepts of what a local NDP
observance should look like, things get more complex:

It is unlikely that followers of non-Christian religions will feel
comfortable at a purely Evangelical Christian prayer meeting which
allows only conservative Christians to speak and conservative Christian prayers to
be recited.

Evangelical Christians may feel uncomfortable attending an inclusive
meeting with representatives of various other religions present and
participating. Some Evangelicals prefer to minimize contact with other
religions, except during efforts at proselytizing. Some conservative denominations
regard other religions as controlled by
and/or worshipping Satan. As Pastor William Keller, president of the Delaware County
Evangelistic Association in Muncie IN said prior to the 2003 NDP: "My
people wouldn't come to a meeting that is an inter-faith event." 1

The only solution may be two or more NDP events in the same
municipality. This is unfortunate, but is an accurate reflection of the
divisions in religious belief throughout the U.S. This division is also seen in
local ministerial associations. Often one city will have one group for
Evangelical pastors, one for mainline and liberal Christian ministers and one for
Roman Catholic priests.

A 2005 example: Troy, MI

During 2005, NDP organizers for the 2005 event in Troy, MI, ran into difficulty. The
Troy National Day of Prayer Christian Task Force, an Evangelical
Christian group, asked the city for permission to hold an event at the Troy city hall.
It was to feature only conservative Christian speakers and prayers. But some
non-Evangelicals protested; they felt that many faiths should be represented at the event. The Troy City Council reached a compromise. They gave
permission for the interfaith group -- including Christians, Jews, Buddhists,
Muslims and Hindus -- to meet from 11 AM until noon at city hall. The exclusively
Evangelical Christian group was given the noon until 1 PM time slot at the same location. Richard A. Peacock of Troy First United Methodist Church, who
represented the interfaith group, said: "We'll make sure we work it out.
And we're inviting everyone to join us." 7 Lori Wagner of the
National Day of Prayer Task Force indicated that persons of all faiths were
welcome at her service; however the meeting would be Evangelical Christian in
content. She said: "We organize our speakers who are in alignment with our
faith."

To avoid future conflict, on APR-04, Troy's City
Council selected three sites for public gatherings, and authorized the
city's recreation department to issue permits on a first-come first-served
basis. Rabbi Arnie Sleutelberg of Congregation Shir Tikvah in Troy was one
of the leaders in the interfaith service. He said: "I just hope the
people who clamored for this know that groups like the pro-choice,
homosexuals, neo-Nazis and Ku Klux Klan members -- anybody who wants to --
can secure a site now." Mayor Louise Schilling is disappointed in the
way the controversy has divided the community. She said: "That day should
be about bringing the different religious groups together in unity, not in
tearing them apart." 3

Associated Press commented
that "It was a day of separation for different religious groups in the
Detroit suburb of Troy. [On MAY-08] ...about 250 people participated in a
Christians-only prayer session in front of Troy City Hall. A similar number of
Christians and members of other faiths attended the Troy Interfaith Group
service at Northminster Presbyterian Church. Mayor Louise Schilling attended the
interfaith event, which also included Buddhists, Jews and Muslims. The prayer
day services followed months of controversy over the Christian group's plan to
exclude non-Christians." 6

The National Day of Prayer
continued to divide the City of Troy, weeks after the event. Shortly after the
Day, the Troy Committee to Protect Free Speech was formed with Wendee Rex
as president. The purpose of the committee appears to be to organize a recall of
Troy Mayor Louise Schilling and Mayor Pro Tem Robin Beltramini because of
the way in which they opposed the Evangelical Christian-only Day of Prayer
event in favor of one that included persons of many religions. Rex
identified herself as a Christian but declined to identify her church or say how
many people are on the committee. She said: "It is because of their open
hostility to Troy citizens exercising their Constitutional rights to free
speech, freedom of assembly and equal access on city property in front of City
Hall." 7

A 2003 example: Muncie, IN:

At first, organizers in Muncie, IN tried to arrange
an multi-faith event. But their efforts did not succeed. A conflict emerged.
Pastor William Keller, president of the Delaware County
Evangelistic Association, and others, conceived of the event as
exclusively conservative Christian. Thomas Perchlik, a
Unitarian Universalist minister, and others promoted a multi-faith meeting
involving individuals and prayers from many Christian denominations --
conservative, mainline and liberal -- and from many other religions. Perchlik
said "We had five meetings with Mr. Keller and it wasn't until late that we
realized" that the minister did not want to include non-Christian prayers in
the program. Perchlik continued: "We said we wanted Jews and Muslims to
participate and share their prayers. It wasn't until we brought a Jewish man to
the meeting when [Keller] started to protest that he wouldn't allow Jewish
prayer....Mr. Keller said, 'My people wouldn't come to a meeting that is an
inter-faith event'...He has a vision of the purpose of the National Day of
Prayer. He's always willing to say Jews and Muslims are welcome, but when it got
down to the details of how that would work, it wouldn't fit his vision."

Pastor William Keller said: "We're praying in the name of the
Father Creator, Jesus and the Holy Spirit. They have other gods to pray
to." He described his event, scheduled at city Hall at noon on
2003-MAY-1, as a: "...Christian gathering. We do not limit this meeting only to
Christians. It's open to anyone who wants to come along. It's the presentations
they wanted to have a part in. We were not comfortable with that - praying to
Allah at the same time we're praying to Jesus - and they understood that. We
couldn't see how we could diversify that. And for me, I had no expertise in
providing that kind of service. We're not excluding anybody, if they want to
come our way." Keller continued: "I'm glad they're planning their
service. I wouldn't know how to provide leadership for that, but I do know how
to vocalize the Christian prayer. We said, 'You can have your interfaith,
but let us have our Christian service,' We're not trying to hurt anybody
and don't want anybody to hurt us."

Perchlik said: "We're all part
of this country and this city, and all of us are unified in our desire for
this country and city to be blessed....We decided to create a second,
equal event." Congregations from the Unitarian Universalist Church,
Temple Beth-El, the Muncie Islamic Center, as well as Lutheran, Quaker and Baptist
churches participated in the second inter-faith service, to be held at
the same location later in the day. Mayor Dan Canan will speak at both events; he said "I
respect the fact there will be two separate events. It would have been nice if
there had been a way to combine the two, but I don't think there's any harm done
in having two separate events. I will participate in both events." 1

Another 2005 example: Oklahoma City, OK:

Americans United for the Separation of Church and State (AUSCS)
state on their web site:

"For too long, the National Day of Prayer has been held
captive by the Religious Right. This year, Americans United for
Separation of Church and State is planning a rescue.

"Let Freedom Ring: A Celebration of Freedom of Conscience," an
event sponsored by the Oklahoma Chapter of Americans United, will
be open to Americans of all faiths - as well as those who don't pray.

"America is a nation with rich diversity, and we want to celebrate
that fact," said the Rev. Barry W. Lynn, executive director of
Americans United, who will be in Oklahoma City to speak at the event. "The
National Day of Prayer has become an excuse for the Religious Right to
practice exclusion and peddle bad history. We want to offer an
alternative."

The Oklahoma event, which is being cosponsored by Mainstream
Baptists of Oklahoma and the Interfaith Alliance of Oklahoma,
will take place on the South Steps of the State Capitol in Oklahoma City
on May 5 at 11 a.m.

AU's Lynn is a United Church of Christ minister. Speakers from
the Jewish, Islamic, Pagan and non-theistic communities will also
participate......

Lynn said Americans United hopes to export the Oklahoma City
model to other communities. 2

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References used:

The following information sources were used to prepare and update the above
essay. The hyperlinks are not necessarily still active today.